Cleat.



W. F FRASER.

CLEAT.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. I. 1914.

1 2431 ,725. Patented July 3, 1917.

117% vwsaea Inventor tanning or curing hides.

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WARREN F. ERASER, or BOSTON. MASSACHUSETTS.

CLEAT.

Application filed September 1, 1914.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, human F. Fnasnn, a subject of King George V ofEngland, residing at Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State ofMassachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Cleats, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in cleats and more particularly,though not exclusively, to cleats adapted for use in When used in thisconnection the cleats are secured upon a frameand a series of cords,commonly known in the art as toggles, are: secured at intervals alongthe edges of the hides with their free ends attached to said. cleats,thus stretching said hides taut within the frame.

There are at the presenttime cleats in use for this purpose but insecuring the cords of the toggle to such the ends of said cords must bekept tight as they are Secured thereto by means of what is known as theshank of the cleat layingthefree end of" the cord beneath its taut endwhich prevents the slipping thereof.

There is a decided objection to this type of fastening means :for thereason that should the cord extending from the cleat to the hide becomeslackened, which it invariably does when. the hides are being stretched,the end of the same will become detached from the cleat.

The object of this invention is to provide asimplev inexpensive anddurable cleat which is adapted to be conveniently attached to the frame.within which the hides are.

tanned or cured, said cleat having provision for securingthe free'endofthe cord and arrangement ofparts whereby the Specification of LettersPatent.

skilled in the :art as a toggle.

Patented July 3, 1917.

Serial No. 859,627.

form of cleat.

Like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views of thedrawings.

In the drawings, referring to Figs. 1 and 2, 5 is a portion of a framepreferably constructed in the usual manner and 6 a cleat to which issecured a cord 7 constituting the end of what is usually-known to thoseThe cleat 6 is preferably constructed of wire and from a single piece ofwire which bent at suitable points to form a shank portion 8, atransversely disposed member 9, which in other words constitutes a. pairof hooks, a resilient member or tongue 10, and means for securing thecleat (3 to the frame 5, which in the present instance are prongs 11adapted to be driven into the wood of said frame within a depression 12provided in the face of: the frame 5 in order that the are bentoutwardly at 16 substantially in opposite. directions to form thetransverse member or hooks 9, said legs being again bent at 17 returningparallel with portions 9 to the points 16, following the lines of saidbendslG and thence extending substantially parallel with the tongue 10to form theshank ,8. At points 18, which are adjacent the loop 15, theends of said wire are preferably bent outwardly or divergently to points19 one of which is preferably at a greaterdistance from the loop 15 thanthe other. At 19 the wires are then bent substantially at right anglesto the shank 8 to form prongs 11, the ends thereof being proferablysharpened to permit the same to be easily driven into the frame 5, saidprongs being arranged out of alinement with each other in order toprevent the cracking of Said frame when said prongs are driven into thesame. The extremity of the tongue 10 adjacent the loop 15 is bentoutwardly to facilitate the insertion of the cord 7 between said tongueand the shank 8 of said cleat. In securing the cord 7 to the cleat, theend 20 thereof is drawn taut in the direction of the arrow a and bentaround the shank portion 8 and the tongue 10 be tween the taut portion21 thereof and the hook against which said cord is resting, which in thepresent case, is b after which said end 20 is laid between the tongue 10and the shank 8, said tongue and said shank being sulliciently closetogether to firmly grip said end and prevent the withdrawal thereof incase the tension on the portion 21 of said cord is relaxed.

It will be evident in view of this arrangement that the cord will begripped at two points, the first point being at a at which point saidcord is pinched between the taut end 21 thereof and the hook b andconsti tuting what is generally known as a blackwall or painters hitch.The other point at which said cord is gripped is at cl between thetongue 10 and the shank 8, the grip of said members being increased bythe tension on the cord 21, due to the fact that the end of said cord iscoiled around both said tongue and said shank and the more the tensionon the end 21 of said cord is increased the greater will be the grippingpressure between said members.

In Fig. 3 I have shown a cleat 6 similar in every respect to the cleat 6with the exception of the ends 22 of the wires forming the shank 8, saidends being formed into eyes 23 instead of prongs as at 11, said eyesbeing arranged to receive tacks or the like 24E-by means of which saidcleat may be attached to the frame 5.

In Fig. 4 I have shown still another form of cleat differing from theothers by reason of its being constructed of sheet metal rather thanfrom wire. The cleat in this form cons1sts of a shank 25, transversemember or hooks 26, tongue 27 and eyes 28 by means of which said cleatmay be secured to a hide stretching frame, the arrangements of saidseveral members being substantially identical with those illustrated inFigs. 1, 2 and 3 and adapted to receive the cord in a like manner. Thetongue 27 in this form of cleat is formed by partially detachingportions of the material constituting said cleat from the shank 25, saidshank being bent outwardly to provide a space between said tongue andsaid shank through which said cord may be drawn.

While I have herein shown and described one specific embodiment of myinvention for illustrative purposes, and have disclosed and discussed indetail the construction and arrangement incidental to the specificapplications thereof, it is to be understood that the invention islimited neither to the mere details or relative arrangement of parts,nor to its specific application herein shown, but that extensivedeviations from the illustrated forms or embodiments of the inventionmay be made without departing from the principles thereof.

Having thus described my invention what I claim and desire by LettersPatent to secure is:

1. A cleat formed from a single piece of wire bent double to form atongue, the ends of said wire forming said tongue being then bentoutwardly at the base of said tongue in substantially oppositedirections substantial distances from said tongue, thence doubledinwardly close to said outwardly extending portions to form hooks, theends of said wire forming said hooks being thence bent into parallelsectionsextending from the base of said tongue longitudinally thereofand substantially parallel therewith to form a shank, the ends of thewires forming said shank being thence bent divergently relatively toeach other substantially in a plane containing the longitudinal medianlines of wires forming said shank, the ends of said divergentlyextending portions being bent at right angles to said plane to formprongs adapted to secure said cleat to a support.

2. A cleat formed from a single piece of wire bent double to form atongue, the ends of said wire forming said tongue being then bentoutwardly at the base of said tongue in substantially oppositedirections substantial distances from said tongue, thence doubledinwardly close to said outwardly extending portions to form hooks, theends of said wire forming said hooks being thence bent into parallelsections extending from the base of said tongue longitudinally thereofand substantiallyparallel therewith to form a shank, the ends of thewires forming said shank being thence bent divergently relatively to"each other substantially in a' plane containing the longitudinal medianlines of wires forming said shank, the ends of said divergentlyextending portions being bent to form means for securing said cleat to asupport, each of said means being disposed oppositely'to one of saidhooks, said means being disposed at different distances from their,respective hooks.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set 7 my hand in presence of twosubscribing wit- Copies of this patent may be obtained for five centseach, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). U.

